The Red Poppy
by Lady Persia
Summary: The Mentalist The Red Poppy. SYNOPSIS. The search is on to find 12 year old Lara Taylor, the daughter of a British doctor who has been holidaying in California with his family. While Jane encounters a woman who can may be the solution to a drugs scandal
1. Chapter 1

Hey folks!

This is my first fanfic in a while, hope you enjoy it and there is more on the way. Review is **love**!! XD Comments and criticism welcome!

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The Mentalist

The Red Poppy.

**SYNOPSIS**. The search is on to find 12 year old Lara Taylor, the daughter of a British doctor who has been holidaying in California with his family. While Jane encounters a woman who can may be the solution to a recent drugs scandal.

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The hubbub at the CBI office was drowned by the sound of the broadcast of CNN NEWS. Rigsby turned the volume up and like the rest of his colleagues listened intently to the report.

The daughter of Adam Taylor, a successful British brain surgeon, had been missing for a reported 2 days. Her name was Lara Taylor. She was a happy and healthy 12 year old girl. With big brown eyes and short brown hair, her picture had been shown on every news report that had been aired. The CBI was called in and had achieved little success in finding what really happened to Lara. There had been a hotline open to the public so they were able to ring in and report anything about the matter of the case.

Many sightings of Lara were reported and noted and anything of significance was taken into account and the CBI were right out on the field. Working alongside Patrick Jane and Agent Lisbon were the local P.D. According to CCTV footage Lara was last seen at Westfield Shoppingtown. She was alone and seemed aware of her surroundings. She wore a green skirt and a white blouse which had a red poppy pinned to it.

Patrick was sat on the sofa in the corner. Listening, but not watching the news, he took in every little detail of the news report. His mind was spinning with questions, yet he was patient and undeterred.

Clutching the remote in his hands, Rigsby found it difficult to tear his eyes away from the screen.

Lisbon walked in just as soon as the news update finished.

'The local P.D are now all over downtown plaza and traffic is murder. And don't get me started on the media frenzy.....Have we got anything?' she asked Rigsby.

'Just more reports of Lara at Westfield. We have looked into everything and it isn't making any sense. Her father had no enemies. Lara was a happy kid, so I doubt she just ran away' Rigsby replied.

'So this is just clear cut abduction? No, I don't think so' pitched in Patrick.

'Why not?' asked Lisbon.

'If she has been abducted and is being held hostage, we haven't had anyone ring in for a ransom demand yet. Kidnappers tend to ring in within 24 hours to make demands. It's textbook' he quipped.

'What if this isn't a textbook kidnapping? Her father is a famous surgeon back in his country and he has quite a reputation here too, so he is an easy target for the greedy money grabbers, right?' said Lisbon.

'Ok, so what are the kidnappers waiting for? That's IF there are any kidnappers.' replied Jane.

'I don't know, something about this doesn't sit right, also we ha-'

Lisbon was cut off by Van Pelt who walked into the CBI office.

'Hey! ..... They found a body....' she said, letting out a deep sigh. 'They think its Lara Taylor'

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More soon.


	2. Chapter 2

So sorry for the very late update, it's been a long time coming. I've been on a tour in Asia and did not get the time whatsoever. It's just a wee chapter. There's more coming soon. I am also very grateful for all the reviews left behind and I have taken some tips from some of the reviewers. Feedback is love. :P

ENJOY.

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Chapter 2.

The local police department increased their search scale and it was at a regional park opposite one of California's busiest shopping malls that Lara's body was found. It was discovered by a park ranger who was on patrol.

Lisbon parked on the sideway only to be met with police officers and a swarm of journalists.

Stepping out of the passenger's seat, Patrick saw a large section of the park cordoned off by the police.

To avoid any contamination of the scene, nobody apart from forensics and people from the coroner's office were allowed at the actual crime scene. Lisbon and Patrick met Cho at the section where the cordon was applied.

They all stood facing the forensics team, watching them wrap Lara's body carefully in a body bag. Cho broke the silence.

"There was no blood, forensics thinks its asphyxiation, and there were bruises around her neck and her wrists." he said in a low voice. "There were also visible needle marks on her arms....which is a whole other shady area"

"Needle marks? You think maybe she did drugs?" Lisbon asked in utter disbelief.

"She was 12 years old for Gods sake and in a country she didn't know well at all, where the hell would she get drugs from?"

"I don't know." replied Cho. "I guess we have to wait for the coroners report and the tox results and then take things from there. There must be someone out there who knows what happened to her... or something that indicates what's happened"

"We're going to need CCTV from the shopping mall and we have to re-trace her every step..... We owe Lara that much." said Lisbon.

Patrick quietly watched Lisbon; he sensed an upset in her voice. Lisbon worked hard over the past days to find Lara. Alive. Working alongside Lisbon for years, Patrick could read Lisbon's body language with his eyes closed. She was dedicated to her work, hence the zero social life. There were times where she would get a little attached to a certain case and push her team and herself to get the desired results.

Patrick didn't expect anything else from such a determined person of the law.

Retrieving her cell phone out of her jacket, Lisbon dialled for Van Pelt. Instructing her to get access to every CCTV tape within a one mile radius of the crime scene, she then turned around and briefed her team.

While Lisbon was briefing the CBI team on the latest newfound information in the case, Patrick kept his focus on the main area where Lara's body was discovered. The more he kept staring at it, the more frustrated he got. Her body was found near a small work shed at the top right corner of the park. There was no way that no-one saw what happened. Unless she was dumped there.... then again, that depended on _when_ her body was left there. _If_ it was left there.

Gesturing towards Lisbon, she came over. "I don't think this is the primary murder scene." said Patrick.


End file.
